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• 1 2017-11-15T01:05:51-08:00 Tick, Tock. Good, Bad. Heroic, Just. Either, Or. 8 Iris Wilcox plain 2017-11-19T21:04:26-08:00 We often call the main characters of literature or the playable characters of a game the "heroes," but SBURB/SGRUB and Homestuck take a much harsher line in their definition, as can be seen with the deaths of two in-game gods: John Egbert and Vriska Serket.
  
  As gods, John and Vriska can only die if their deaths are heroic or just, that is to say if they die valiantly or are in some way brought to justice. The game has no sense of an "in-between," you can't be "kinda" a hero. You either are, or you aren't, and what you were trying to be doesn't matter. John and Vriska both died trying to bring down Jack Noir, the one who killed their friends and family, and trying to prevent more deaths, a valiant effort by any means. But dear, sweet John is considered inconsequential: he got stabbed out of the blue, without even beginning a fight, so he gets to try again.
  
  The regretful Vriska wanted to help; she wanted to end the killing. She thought she was being a hero. But she would've brought more death, and she didn't get the chance to redeem herself for her past. What she wanted and thought didn't matter. Her death was just.
  
  John and Vriska go against the the game. They attack its agents and try to save their friends. The game doesn't care, but we do. John is still a hero, no matter what the game decides. Vriska, with all her flaws, is one of the webcomic's most beloved characters. The game may give harsh definitions, but as readers we see grey. "Good" people have lapses in their effectiveness, "bad" people can change, and heroism is not merely a game of Yes/No/Unimportant.